Well, yeah. American Jews are Americans, and Israeli Jews are Israelis. The two countries have very different cultures.
True.
But this is completely lost on many people who assume the two are interchangeable.
The US has seen an uptick in attacks on American Jews during recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations, by people who don’t and probably don’t want to see a distinction between “Jew” and “Israeli”.
I have nothing but good will towards you, @Alessan, and all our other Israeli members here, but I’m sure you understand why I’d be angry at your government doing things that put my safety, halfway around the world, at risk even if I understand why your government feels compelled to do those things. I actually want no part of a conflict I see as the problem of another nation on the other side of the world, but I may be dragged into it unwillingly simply because of my ancestry and my surname.
It was bad enough when this seemingly eternal Palestinian-Israeli conflict was going on in your region, when it threatens to spill over to the rest of the world it’s no longer just the problem of the Palestinians and the Israelis. I understand that both sides have intractable factions. I also understand that both sides have people of good will. The question is whether it is the people of good will or the people intent on genocide will win out. If it’s the latter this conflict will not remain limited to Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank.
Nobody wants this conflict to get worse (outside certain homicidal factions).